15.

Two hours of silence. Awkward silence. Tension so thick that Santi could not only cut it, he could proceed to dish it up on a plate after cutting it. Zeke was sitting with a knot of his fighters, all of them working hard on not making eye contact with Maya. Maya was crouched against a wall with a cat that ate the canary grin as she watched them. She was going to be a problem, there was too much instigator in her for being a stable presence in the community.

She didn’t seem the type to stick around one spot for a long time. There was too much to explore and see. She would go far, gaining levels and power if she could keep herself from getting killed.

Zeke had the presence to be a good leader. Solid and reliable with plenty of patience. He wasn’t bothered by Maya’s staring or the creeping tension or the thought of a fight coming. He simply stood there like nothing was wrong, quietly talking to his people when needed.

“How long do you think before Hana gets back?” Chloe asked. Santi could tell it was more to break the silence that had been growing than an actual desire to know when Hana would be back.

“She should be getting back to Homebase soon enough. Couple hours to rally everyone then couple more to get back here. That’s if nothing has gone to shit.”

“Somethings definitely gone to shit. It always does,” Chloe remarked dryly.

“It’s the apocalypse. Something definitely went wrong,” Santi said, agreeing with her.

“Probably tomorrow then. At dawn to make it much more dramatic.” Chloe was smiling gently.

“Of course, right as we’re about to be overrun,” Santi played along. Others were turning to look at them with some puzzled looks.

“Hey! We have movement!” a voice cried out, the watcher on the rooftop. Santi perked up, finally having some type of action.

“Where at?” Frank called out, taking control of the environment in an instant. Zeke might have a leadership class, but he didn’t have the older man’s experience. Zeke and his people rose up silently, gathering their weapons. They gripped them with white knuckle ferocity, nervous but determined. Maya simply had a feral smile on her face, vicious and predatory as she cracked her neck.

“Coming from the overpass. Single person, uhhh, thing?”

“You all stay here. I’ll call you if we need help.” Santi waved at the two groups as Chloe followed behind him. The two sets of people looked at him with a mix of surprise and gratitude. Santi wanted to keep them in reserve in case anything happened, but they were likely going to be seriously outclassed.

Santi walked out of the torn up store and jogged up towards the overpass they had come down hours ago. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he worked his way up towards the overpass.

“Calm down, you’re walking so fast,” Chloe complained as she had to do a little hop skip to catch up to him.

“I’m bored. Want to get this shit kicked off as soon as possible.”

“You do, or the curse does?”

“Little of both?” Santi shrugged as he started walking up the slope of the overpass.

“Wonder what it is. Think it’s Mercy and her people?”

“Maybe. Doubt it though. It’s supposed to be a big group, they don’t move as quickly as a small group can. Monsters will be faster. Some individuals or small groups might get here quicker.”

“Like that guy? The shadow assassin?”

“Yeah, he was close by too. He could get here quick.”

“Think he’ll honor your temporary truce?”

“Fuck if I know. We stay on guard regardless of what happens, don’t trust him at all no matter what happens.”

“You got it.” They crested the top of the overpass and Santi finally got a glimpse of what the watcher had seen. A bloody grin crossed his face, widening out as he stared at the monster who looked back at him with semi-intelligent eyes.

Satyr Scout lvl. 49

Bipedal with thick, muscular arms, white fur legs that were capped with goat hooves. A wide wooden club dangled from a four finger hand. Stubby horns poked out from curly white hair and wide dark eyes filled with malice. It grinned, wide teeth stained yellow showing as it started back up the overpass. Every step sent a clop as it moved up the slope of the overpass.

“Mine,” Santi whispered as heat began to suffuse his body. His heartbeat picked up, blood rushing through his veins as he flew toward the monster, morph blade turning into a long sword.

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The satyr moved in a blur of speed, asphalt cracking under its hooves as it exploded forward. Its club whished through the air, aiming for his head as Santi dodged, ducking his head and slashing at waist height.

The satyr spun gracefully, a few stray hairs coming free of its midriff as the morph blade narrowly missed a disemboweling strike. Santi sucked air through his teeth in annoyance as the fast moving monster dodge back again as Santi threw a flurry of short strikes meant to incapacitate. He targeted the monster's legs, feinting for the goat man’s throat before twisting trying to cut a knee.

It leapt back, avoiding the initial slash, but Santi lengthened and thinned the blade, forming an oversized rapier as the slash turned into a lunge. Bone split and blood flowed as the satyr bleated in pain. It never slowed though, a huge overhand blow coming even as its white furred leg buckled.

Santi twisted and the rough wood grazed his side, tearing at his cheek. He just smiled wider as excitement pulsed through him. A trickle of blood rolled down his scraped cheek, warm and wet as Santi pulled the rapier free and backed up. The satyr tried to follow, but its leg buckled. Panic had started to blossom in its wide dark eyes.

“SANTI!” Chloe yelled, breaking through the red haze that had surrounded him. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Half a dozen satyrs were racing toward him, all of them bigger and more muscular than the one he was fighting.

“Fuck!” Santi spat. [Air Shield] was cast behind the satyr as it tried to retreat. [Air Manipulation] was used to hold the monster's club down, while [Gust] was cast at the reinforcements running toward them. The gale force winds staggered the racing monsters as loose soil was scoured from the hard packed dirt.

Chloe’s axe split the air with a scream as Santi held the satyr down. Black steel bit through flesh like butter and the creature’s arm hit the ground. She reversed her momentum and took the satyr through the ribs and worked up, puncturing its heart. Body parts hit the ground loudly as the two of them began to back up.

Satyr Hunter lvl. 51

Satyr Hunter lvl. 52

Satyr Singer lvl. 56

The three strongest satyrs stayed in the back. The three leading satyrs were all in the upper forties, any one of them a challenge for Chloe likely. These monsters were built on speed and strength, lacking high vitality or durability. The ease in which they had killed the scout was telling, glass cannons instead of endurance fighters.

That singer could be dangerous, some type of shaman or mage class. Santi hadn’t really seen these types of monsters in his first timeline, but he knew enough of the mythology. If it used magic it would be something nature or music based.

“Keep the heavies off of me while I kill the singer,” Santi barked at Chloe. She simply grunted in acknowledgment, gripping her axe tightly as she squared herself off. Santi let loose more spells, trying to prune away the leading edges of the charge. He needed them to be a bit staggered if they were going to get through it.

The singer lifted a lute to its full lips and discordant notes came screaming out. Mana tightened around them, thickening the air as Santi could feel the howl of an autumn wind, the decaying of the leaves under heavy rain and mud. The satyrs sped up, Santi’s magic rolling by them like they oil on water.

“That’s fucking annoying.”

“What?”

“Some type of buffing magic, it repels my spells. Going to have to do this the old fashion way.”

“Good to know,” Chloe said as the first of the satyrs got within range. Santi didn’t give up on casting. He could overwhelm the singer’s magics with pure brute force, but that would leave him vulnerable as the physical fighters closed the distance. [Air Current] and [Air Manipulation] instead poked and prodded at their defenses, twisting the air around them, trying hard to find a weak point even as he parried a glowing club.

Whatever power the singer was using was strong, even the morph weapon couldn’t cut through cleanly. Instead it sank deep into the heart of the club and with a savage twist Santi ripped the club free of the satyr’s hands. Santi kicked the goat man’s knee, bone popping under his heel as the monster screamed in pain.

To his side Chloe was trading blows in a furious exchange.Skills were blurring together as she refused to give ground, trimming the club to kindling as she battered the monster into the cement.

Santi bit back a curse as a fist came in a wide loop as the satyr refused to die even as its innards fell from its stomach. The wide smile he had cut in the satyr’s stomach had been done when he glanced at Chloe. The satyr had tried to take advantage of the distraction and had paid the price.

He let the blow land on his shoulder and grimaced instantly at the mistake. His counter strike took the monster’s head, but that fist had hurt. He rolled his shoulder a few times and stepped over the dead body to interdict the second monster before it could reach Chloe. She was winning her fight fairly handedly, but he didn’t trust her to win the two on one.

The three heavy fighters were in the back, the two hunters standing next to the singer as the singer continued to play its lute. Santi was getting close to working through the defenses, they were more of a blanket cast over the fighters rather than a true shield. Santi bent back at the waist allowing the club to sail by his face as he slashed the scout across the leg.

Flesh and bone parted as the goatman staggered back. Santi lunged as it backed up, stabbing it through the neck. With a twist he removed the blade and half the beast's neck. Santi took another look at Chloe and nodded to himself as she stood her ground and had the higher level monster on its last legs.

“Follow behind!” Santi yelled as he rushed forward. Something was telling him it was the wrong move, that with the power the singer was using to protect the others was dangerous to him. He was a mage after all, not being able to cast spells on his enemies was a problem.

He couldn’t be bothered to care. The hunt was in his mind, his blood humming with endorphins and darker energy. The thrill of the blood in the air had him attacking without hesitation, leaping and twisting like a top as a tendril of the morph blade wrapped itself around him.

The razor wire was stopped in its track, verdant green energy protecting the hunters hand held scythe. The hunter’s smile blossomed into something feral as its arms blurred. Thicker green energy condensed around it as it attacked with ferocity. Santi met it blow for blow, his own crazed smile matching its smile.

“Left!” Chloe screamed, piercing the haze around him as he changed the morph blade. Clefts appeared in the blade, twisted metal catching the scythe and holding it still as Chloe descended like the grim reaper. Her axe was glowing as it came down like a meteor.

A second scythe appeared, catching the axe in an explosion of light as Chloe’s skills tested the defenses of the singer's magic. The magic won. Chloe rebounded backward as the second hunter crowded her. Chloe’s body flashed to metal, but the scythe still peeled a strip of metal free in a shriek. Chloe bit back a scream as she kneed the goat in the stomach, the blow sounding like a hammer hitting flesh.

Santi finally felt his spell slide by the defense.